PILOT REVIEW: Life in Pieces

LIFE IN PIECES

Starring: Colin Hanks, Betsy Brandt, Thomas Sadoski, Zoe Lister-Jones, Dan Bakkedahl, Angelique Cabral, Niall Cunningham, Holly Barrett, Giselle Eisenberg, with James Brolin, and Dianne Wiest

Created by Justin Adler
Written by Justin Adler, Directed by Jason Winer

THE PREMISE 
Life in Pieces is constructed exactly as the title says. Focused on one extended family, each at a different stage in life, every episode will be shown in four little stories that tie together in one way or another. The parents of the family are John and Joan (James Brolin and Dianne Wiest), a goofy but loving couple. Their grown children are Heather (Betsy Brandt), Greg (Colin Hanks), and Matt (Thomas Sadoski). Heather is married to Tim (Dan Bakkedahl) and they have three children: Tyler (Niall Cunningham), Samantha (Holly Barrett), and Sophia (Giselle Eisenberg). Greg is married to Jen (Zoe Lister-Jones) and they are brand new parents. Matt is unmarried and dating Colleen (Angelique Cabral).

THE REVIEW
Have you ever heard of Modern Family? Well, this show is trying to be like that but it's pretty far from the mark at the moment. Whereas Modern Family had one of the best sitcom pilots ever, this show was a disorganized mess. Each "piece" had flashes of potential but none of them were funny enough or engaging enough. The pilot relied too often on cheap and crass jokes instead of developing characters.

Not to constantly compare it to Modern Family, but it has set itself up for such comparisons. The brilliance of the Modern Family pilot was how they set each story up separately and so cleverly brought it together at the end. Every story was unique and funny in its own right and the end where everyone was together was that much more satisfying. In fact, the Modern Family pilot was before I regularly read and researched each pilot like I do now, so I didn't even put all the pieces together until the final scene of that pilot. I don't mind the construct here, but it just seemed like they boxed themselves into this gimmick, rather than letting things happen organically. Originally, I watched the first "story" and thought to myself, maybe they should have led with a different one? But then I saw all the stories and realized that none were particularly funny or creative.

I'm still hopeful about this show because it is a strong cast. Dianne Wiest and James Brolin are accomplished veterans and that showed as they elevated any scene they were in. I also thought there was potential from Colin Hanks and Thomas Sadoski. I don't know what it is about Zoe Lister-Jones, but I typically can't stand her and this was no exception. She just always seems like she's trying way too hard. I found her scenes the most unbearable in the pilot, which is too bad, because I actually thought she had some of the funniest lines.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Yes, I'll give it one more week but if I come away as disappointed as I did this week then I'm done.